Turnabout
by SummerTrip
Summary: He didn't have a clear destination for this journey. All Ryuto really wanted to do was explore now that he didn't have anyone to really return to besides his partner, who was just as restless as him. But the boy would quickly come to learn that he was a magnet for the strange, and his party would begin to grow as he continued to wander on this seemingly aimless journey.


**A/N:** Posting this story on my new account after some...things made me want to have a fresh start. I've also made a few changes and generally made this chapter longer than what it originally was! This story will probably be only the full on fic on this account, but even then I'm slower than a slug, so let me apologize in advance if it takes a long time to update! There's an author note at the end.

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><p>Peace was good. Ideal. Peace was wonderful. It allowed you to sleep soundly at night, knowing that nothing could go wrong while you trapped in the realm of dreams, and some monster or freak of night won't sneak into your house while you're at your most vulnerable, murdering andor eating your whole family plus yourself with little of an interference.

But for someone who made money off of your worst fears and nightmares, peace was _horrible_ and would eventually end with starvation.

However for someone as young as Ryuto, who shouldn't have to rely on those fears and should be relying on his parents like most normal children for his basic needs, he needed the rumors that circulated from an attack. Even if it turned out to just be some crazed man or a wild ghost story, or even some children's prank, he would still be getting paid one way or another. While it was unfortunate that he couldn't prevent such incidents from happening before it was too late, he wouldn't get any pay if something bad didn't happen to someone. That's just how hunting works.

But there was one problem: _**Nothing bad was happening.**_

The whole village lately seemed to have entered a state of general peace_, _and there had been no reports of monsters or demon sightings. Not even some ridiculous ghost rumor from some paranoid drunk. Instead, everything seemed to have been _thriving _over the years. Ryuto could remember a time when feral creatures and devils really seemed to love screwing over humans and his father was practically busy around the clock while Ryuto was forced to stay home and hope that his father didn't come home covered in blood and barely breathing, or that he came home at all.

Those were the good times.

But seeing as said father was no longer with him, Ryuto was stuck with the closest person to family he had left. His father's partner, and _his _partner now as well- Yuuma. Now, you would think that an amateur like Ryuto would be happy just to have someone with some hunting experience watching over him, even if Yuuma didn't play much of an active role due to his current body and it's limitations, or just having some kind of companion on his long journey with no clear destination, but it was honestly the opposite...

A long, cold glare was casted at the barrel beside himself as Ryuto stared nice and hard at the round and plump green penguin-like creature munching nonchalantly on a cucumber on the second barrel beside his own.

"I thought you said you hated cucumbers."

_"I thought you said you would find us a job."_

Oh, how he wanted to strangle the little kappa. For one, they _would_ have a job if Yuuma had his "sources" right. There hasn't been any notable problems in the last **_50 years _**in this village, and they haven't got a cart or horse to their name. Ryuto did have a vehicle, some type of motorized bike his father had given him as a gift from some city in the northern regions, but Ryuto couldn't remember the name of said city. All he knew was, technologically, they were a bit more advanced compared to the other areas. He even heard there was city where apparently the rain never ceased. Well anyway, moving on back to reality; what happened was that during a particularly difficult job involving a possessed bull...long story short, Ryuto's bike was completely destroyed and stomped to oblivion. What did Yuuma do?

Absolutely **nothing.**

_"Glare at me all you want, kid, but it won't help." _The turtle-penguin hybrid finished off the cucumber and hopped off the barrel he was perched on. Having had nothing to do all day, the pair had been loitering in front of a small shop on the wooden barrels left outside. The shopkeeper didn't seem to mind too much, though. As long as they didn't cause trouble, they could do whatever the hell they wanted. He even handed Yuuma a cucumber, saying that "those duck things" loved them. Which, to Ryuto's knowledge, was true, but then again Yuuma wasn't exactly a normal kappa.

Yuuma waddled in front Ryuto's barrel to look up at the kid, eyes locked on the other's. _"We need to earn us some cash, otherwise we'll starve to death."_

"Us?" Ryuto hissed, jumping off his barrel. "Don't you mean _me_? Last time I checked, you weren't the one that almost had his arm eaten! _Four times_!"

_"Quit whining. As a matter of fact, I have been busy lately," _and there was that glint in his eyes. While Yuuma was limited in expressions, Ryuto had learned through experience that when the Kappa had something up his sleeves (figuratively speaking), there seemed to be a literal glint in those tiny, beady black eyes. _"I've found us a job."_

Now this definitely improved the human child's mood as he tried to keep himself from grabbing Yuuma and shaking him in excitement. "R-Really!? When?"

_"Now, now. No need to go into details. Let's just say I did some more snooping around." _Yuuma then motioned with his little flipper for his charge to come closer. Ryuto crouched down to the kappa's eye level as Yuuma filled him in on his findings.

_"About fifty years ago, some demon was sealed off somewhere around here after bringing nothing but trouble to the villagers. Storms, lightning fires, and even famine from all the destruction it caused," _Yuuma would've raised a brow if he had any when he saw the green haired boy pull an odd face, but continued on. _"However, the priest who tried to stop it wasn't strong enough to take the demon on, so instead he made a seal that, as long as he lived, it would be active. But recently, the old man croaked so now the villagers are afraid the demon will break free any day now."_

Ryuto pulled his head away and straightened up a bit in his crouched position, a confused look twisting his face slightly in thought. "Can seals just lose their power like that? And why would he put a time limit like his own lifespan on it? If he's a priest that's willing to kill demons for a village, how would he know he'd live long enough for the villagers to even fix all the damage caused? I mean, Dad always said that in a business like ours, he's seen hunters fall in seconds."

_"Ah, but you've forgotten one thing, runt," _Yuuma stated a smug air. _"There are benefits to using seals like that. As long as you live, the seal starts sucking away at the demon's energy, so once the user is dead, either the demon is weak enough for even a human to just stab it and be done with it, or user will be strong enough to finish the job."_

"So...it's a lazier way to get paid faster?" Ryuto concluded, obviously unimpressed by this priest that, at one moment sounded like a hero, but now...

_"W-Well that's what a beginner like you would think! Anyway, what I'm saying is that we got a chance to take this demon down with no problems, and then _cha-ching! _We'll have enough money to buy some food and maybe a cart! After all, if he was so feared, the villagers would be willing to pay us big for it!"_

"Maybe..." Ryuto mumbled while his friend was too caught up with planning on what they would do with their pay. Ryuto's left hand moved to the holster that was tied around his waist and slipped out a silver gun. A glare reflected on the old revolver, and on the metal closest to the black hilt had the name "Rosary" carved into it.

"I am running a little low on ammo for Old Rose..."

_"Then you better aim well, kid." _Yuuma snapped out of his daydreaming to respond just in time, and turned his back to Ryuto, pointing forward where in the very distance, past the village it seemed, you could see the tree tops, some higher as it the forest ahead was resting on a hill. _"Because we're going __**there**__."_

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><p>The various rocks and tree roots proved to make walking on the the forest hill difficult, and a trip could send you tumbling down and possibly with a broken arm or leg. Haven't these people ever heard of stairs? And the small statues that seemed to watch over all who ventured up this Gods-forsaken path to possibly death were more unnerving than the possibility of wolves. Ryuto was pretty damn sure whatever made that howling was lost and hungry.<p>

_"You look like you're about to jump out of your skin, kid." _Yuuma commented ahead of him. Much farther ahead of him. How the smaller creature even managed to get far with his waddling and stubby feet, Ryuto would never know the answer to.

"This whole place freaks me out..." Ryuto replied, giving an unmanly yelp when he almost tripped on one of those damned tree roots. Trees shouldn't be allowed to grow this large!

_"Maybe you're just sensitive to the demon's presence..." _It wasn't uncommon for people to feel cold chills when a spirit or demon was close by, but that was usually with a particularly strong presence. The demon they had their sights on had 50 years to have it's strength sucked away, so for it to still carry a shiver worthy presence was...odd. Very odd. Yumma suddenly wasn't too sure about this. There could be the possibility another demon was hiding out somewhere around here, or Ryuto could just genuinely be freaked out by their location. This slowed Yuuma down a little, allowing Ryuto to catch up while panting up the hill. The boy wanted to kiss the ground when they finally reached the top of the hill, surrounded by gigantic trees. They allowed little sunlight for the vegetation below, but seemed sympathetic enough to leave a clearing space for the old, cracked statue sitting in the middle of it. Sunlight poured down on it unlike the dapples of the light in most of the forest.

The closer Ryuto got to it, the more he felt his heart race. He could barely get himself to touch it, but his companion seemed to have little trouble doing so. The kappa hummed softly as he observed the statue. It was a little bald man, with his hands together as if praying. It was dirtied with moss and dirt and covered in cracks. A tag was stuck to his forehead, and it seemed half of it had been burnt off, tiny bit of flames still eating away at the aged paper.

_"Judging from the tag's condition now, it would take a couple more days for this to burn." _Yuuma informed, as he doubted Ryuto would've figured it out on his own. Said child nodded in understanding and crouched so he was face level to the worn out white statue, and placed a hand on its face, gently sliding a finger down the stone man. He felt cool against his skin.

"So what now? Do we just wait for it to come out?"

_"Of course not. We're going to-"_

But Yuuma never got to finished his sentence as a deafening shriek filled the little clearing and a large shadow was suddenly cast over them. Both travelers looked up at where the only circular opening in the maze of trees allowed them to see the sky, a large figure blocking the sun's rays before suddenly rising.

Ryuto was the first to speak up. "Yuuma, what the heck is that?"

_"Whatever it is, I hope it's a vegetarian..."_

As the creature continued to rise it suddenly stopped and, just as quickly as it paused, began to dive downward towards them with another shrill shriek. Ryuto and Yuuma narrowly missed the fatal attack as the large monster crashed into the ground where they were previously standing, and amazingly amongst the raised earth it stood again and shook itself. As the dust cleared it's bird like body became clearer, and it became more obvious what is was. Its white, beautiful feathers contrasted the hideous, distorted but almost human looking head whose face was covered with long, wire like white hair that seemed tangled in some places with the blood of whatever poor creature previously came into contact with the starving harpy.

Rytuo tried not to cringe at the hideous creature and removed his gun from its restraints just as the harpy was charging at him again after a powerful burst from its wings sent it flying towards him. Ryuto aimed the gun straight at the harpy's face and was ready to the pull the trigger when he heard the voice of a certain kappa.

_"Ryuto, get out of the way!"_

The hag had suddenly started going into a frenzy, flying around desperately as if infested with fleas and trying to desperately shake them off. Well, that was half right. It certainly wanted to shake something off.

Ryuto jumped to the side as the harpy crashed into the statue and he caught a glimpse of something green on the predator's back.

"Yuuma?!"

Ryuto quickly took aim it at the harpy again as it thrashed about in its vain attempts to shake Yuuma off its feathers. However, its sporadic movements made it equally as difficult to get a proper shot at its heart. _'Damn it, I can't get a hit like this...!'_ He thought, following the monster's movements the best he could.

Suddenly the air seemed to become thicker around him, as if he could choke on it. His heart was racing faster than before, and he was shaking so much, he thought he was going to drop his gun. What was suddenly coming over him? Where and why did this fear suddenly appear?

Ryuto barely registered the blood curdling screech above him with his fear clouded mind. He looked with widened eyes as the harpy was suddenly blasted by a burst of blue light to the ground, the feathers on the struck spot on its chest scorched. Yuuma, unprepared for the sudden strike, fell to the ground behind the harpy and just lied there for a moment to process what was going on.

There was a small vibration as a large body touched the ground and low but deep growl came up from the giant's throat. Another demon like one Ryuto had never seen before appeared out of nowhere, except...this one's skin was completely black, shiny and hard in appearance like armor. Large, black wings is what enabled the monster to reach the harpy and practically tackle it back to earth with such a speed that Ryuto could barely keep track with his own eyes.

The crash of the titans whipped up enough dirt and wind to make Ryuto fall to his feet, and he could only watch as the monsters battled it out, Yuuma no longer visible, and that only put Ryuto in even more panic. But he dared not to move, afraid he would get caught in the monsters' fight.

The harpy seemed to know what it was going up against, as it tried to flee before facing the other's wrath. However, the mysterious demon grabbed it roughly by its scaly legs and flung it brutally into the trees with a roar. The harpy laid dazed among the split trees, covered in cuts and some blood seeping from them. When its opponent stomped towards it, Ryuto wasn't sure if he wanted to see what his savior and possible enemy was going to do to it.

The demon grabbed the monster by its neck, and with a toothy, sadistic grin, sparks of blue electricity came about his body as he charged, then released all of it onto the harpy. The hideous monster screamed in agony until the black demon dropped it to the ground. The harpy never moved again.

One problem was dealt with, but now another showed itself. The demon, to Ryuto's horror, was coming towards him, with his left claw balled into a fist. The child weakly gripped his gun, beginning to feel trapped. The demon had it's fist raised as it breathed hard, and was about to bring it down on Ryuto until it suddenly stilled and then, fell backwards. The forest shook from the impact, and just like the harpy the black Goliath stopped moving.

Ryuto finally allowed himself to take deep gasps as his mind came to the realization that he could've been crushed to death, and he just sat there like a moron and waited for his death. The child fell back to lie down on the dirt as he panted, faintly hearing the sounds of waddled steps.

_"Don't start getting comfortable, kid. Look."_

Ryuto coughed when black dust surrounded him and he shot up to look where Yuuma was pointing to. He clasped a hand to his mouth and nose as he watched the fainted demon begin to...erode away at a frightening pace until it disappeared. Or so they thought.

Ryuto weakly stood up to his feet and cautiously followed Yuuma towards the pile of black ash flying into the depths of the forest with the aid of the wind. To say they were shocked by what they saw would be an understatement, as they expected to see nothing. But instead, they did in fact see _something- _a naked, blue haired young man was lying on the grass, fast asleep and spotted with the remaining black ashes.

_"It's a..."_

"...Man? Oh!"

Shrugging off his jacket, Ryuto placed it on top of the suspected demon's waist to cover him up. As he stood knelt beside the man he could see his chest rising up and down gently, reassuring Ryuto that he was indeed alive.

_"Doesn't make sense though," _Yuuma spoke up, his black eyes narrowing at the sleeping figure in both confusion and caution. _"There's no way after 50 years he could've come out like that. He seems to be all drained now, but earlier..."_

Ryuto nodded in understanding and stood straight back up, gazing down at the sleeping man thoughtfully. Well, he was weak and unguarded now, he could easily shoot the demon square in the heart and they could get paid, then move on their merry way. But...

His thumb rubbed the smooth metal of his gun. He had almost forgotten it was in his hand.

"Mmrph..."

The two were snapped from their individual thoughts and focused back on the moving body on the ground. The blue haired man made a few more low murmurs before his eyes started to open. They shut for a quick second against the sun, but eventually adjusted and he learned to open them a bit slower. The demon slowly rose into a sitting position while rubbing away the ash from his eyes and face.

He blinked, looking up and gazing back into mossy green eyes. Ryuto flinched at the intense gaze of the man's bright red eyes. It was sharp, despite him appearing so lethargic. The demon titled his head slightly to the side, a hand running through his blue, white streaked hair.

"Huh...? Uhm..." The older male mumbled as he tried to straighten out his thoughts, but it found it nearly impossible to do so. His mind and body felt so...tired, like he was waking up from some long hibernation. It felt like a struggle to just think. "Where...am I...?" He finally managed to ask. "Who...ah..."

He started to drift back into a heavy sleep with some light swing of his body as it felt he was getting heavier, unable to stall his slipping consciousness. Before Ryuto knew it, he had a sleeping demon laying his head on his shoulder. The hunter sighed along with Yuuma, but let the sleeping man continue to rest on him.

_"He must be lethargic from being trapped for so long. He may even be like this for a while," _The Kappa clarified. Now _that_ certainly made sense. It was the only thing that really made sense at the moment. And he certainly didn't like the thoughtful expression on Ryuto's face. The kid was too kind for his own good. Yuuma already knew what was coming.

"I think we should keep him."

_And why the hell do you think that's a good idea, _was what Yuuma wanted to say, but waited knowing there was more to Ryuto's suggestion. But no matter what the amateur hunter wanted to say, the veteran knew he wouldn't like their situation at all.

"Think about it," Ryuto continued. "If that old man was strong enough to seal _him _away, then he could've came back 49 years later to kill him, maybe 40. Look how tired he looks!" Ryuto pointed to the heavy weight still sleeping _and drooling _on his shoulder to emphasize his point. "He could've finished the job, he should've known his time was coming, and he knew there was defenseless village right next to the very demon that nearly destroyed them years ago! I think..."

Yuuma tensed slightly. _Dammit, don't say it..._

"I don't think the Old Man wanted him killed to begin with. I don't know why, and I don't know what happened exactly 50 years ago, but that's what my gut is telling me!"

_"Has your gut told you that you could __**get us killed?!**__"_

"Sure!"

..This is it. This is when the exasperated water monster would just leave this kid behind. Never in his life would he think he would associate with someone so _stupid, foolish, naïve, overly trusting, and goddamn __**stubborn**__..._

He was exactly like his father.

If his arms were long enough, Yuuma would be rubbing at his temples and trying to alleviate the headache that was beginning to pierce through his mind. But considering he was practically an oversized bean with stubby arms it was all futile. And that stupid grin on Ryuto's face wasn't helping one bit, not at all. If anything, it made him want to strangle the boy right here and now.

_"...Fine, but he's _your _responsibility."_

Ryuto's grin turned into a wide smile that showed those little buck teeth he tried so hard to hide, and Yuuma was suddenly pulled into a bone crushing hug. There was a light thud, as the source of his current foul mood fell onto the ground without his meat pillow supporting him and too busy squeezing the life out of Yuuma to care.

Maybe he should've just let that harpy kill him.

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><p><strong>AN:** I'm going to keep this short and explain a few things.

_Yuuma; _Yes, he's a kappa, but as (hopefully clearly enough) implied in this chapter he hasn't always been. Truthfully, most of the songs I've heard using VY2 were made by Manbo-P, and his sister (and maybe himself) seem pretty fond of kappas...so when deciding what animal or monster to make Yuuma, that was the first thing that came to mind. However, am I going to use Roro or the other popular black haired representation of VY2? Admittedly, I'm not sure yet.

_Ryuto; _In this fic he's about 13, mainly because it wouldn't be good if a five year old went around killing monsters on his own.

Lastly, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Drool-y. Maybe you've already figured out who he is, but all I can say on that is that he's based on a song of his called _Black Rain_ (if I remember correctly. It's been a while) But that itself is probably a huge hint.


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